Tag Archives: exercise

This time last week most of us were getting ready for Thanksgiving. I can’t believe that a week has really slipped by me since then. It doesn’t feel like a week. Maybe because there were three additional days of eating Thanksgiving leftovers! There are still some in the fridge, but they’re all turkey related so those are for Ralph. But here I am again, ready to be part of Thinking Out Loud hostessed by Amanda at Running With Spoons. I’m not really sure what’s on my mind, but that never stops me, does it?!?

~This has not been my favorite week. There’s been a lot of rain, which never makes me happy. I’m much sunnier when the weather is sunnier. It’s one of the reasons why I need to NOT be in New Jersey, but that’s a topic for another day. The next couple of days are expected to be dry, if not sunny. I can deal with that. Just no rain please. I try hard to work around it, but the weather can have very negative effects on me. I suppose I should be grateful…my life is so much better than last year this time. Ok…I’ll stop complaining.

~Some household issues have been a huge pain. They are ongoing and unresolved as I write this. Everything is falling apart. Gotta love living in a Very old house. Things will work out eventually but for now they’re making me very cranky.

~I’m trying to get some Christmas spirit, but every time I take a step forward I seem to go back by one. Little things like buying a present for someone and then finding out the person already has it. Ugh!! Have to put my thinking cap back on. I’m just not good at this anymore. I’ll get there though. I keep trying and I guess that’s what matters.

~One thing that Is making me happy and feel good right now is exercise. I mentioned a few weeks ago that I joined the gym. I’m loving the whole process. I go with my two best friends most days but I will even go when they can’t go or if our schedules conflict. I’ve been there three times this week and I think we’ll be going today. I even thought about going on Thanksgiving morning but changed my mind. The surprising thing is…I thought about it!! I also found out about something called #mileaday from my friend Kristen at ok,enjoy. She got it from another blogger. The idea is that starting on Thanksgiving and throughout the Holidays, try to log one mile a day. As she says in her post, it’s not a lot but it’s a start. I think for so many of us we have No Idea how much activity we get or don’t get. This is a start and for those of us who tend to over indulge during the Holidays and then say they need to start doing something after January 1, you’ll already be started.

I don’t use any of those fancy fitness trackers…well not at the moment anyway. I am thinking about one. For now I just use my plain old pedometer and it works well. It tracks my steps both regular and aerobic and gives me the mileage. I’ve tracked a mile everyday even on my non-gym days so that makes me happy. Some days I’ve had to resort to marching in place while watching TV but that’s ok, I still get it in. I think that anything that makes you aware of what you’re doing or not doing is a good thing. Besides, it’s fun and I have to keep thinking to find fun ways to post it on Instagram. I can’t just always show my sneakers!

There you have Thinking Out Loud this week. I started out a little cranky and grumbley but I turned it around. Be sure to check out Running With Spoons to see what everyone has on their minds.

I can’t believe that I’m writing Thinking Out Loud #6!! Thinking Out Loud, hostessed by Amanda at Running With Spoons gives us all a chance to speak our minds and get things off our chests. I like it because I just like to babble on about things. Check out what the other bloggers are thinking about when you’re finished here.

It seems like I just wrote my last Thinking Out Loud post. Time is flying and I’m starting to get those old pre-Holiday nerves. I have to keep my craziness under control. I think I can do it this year. It has gotten the better of me in previous years, but now that I’m feeling so much better, I’m feeling more positive about so many things.

~I am feeling so good and I’ve been doing my best to be active. I had been going to the gym with my best friends Gail and Alice and using their guest passes. No longer!

I am an Official Member!! I’m so excited. I’ve been enjoying it. I’ve set up a routine for myself, based on things my physical therapist told me before I finished my sessions with her. I walk the track for one mile. Seven times around the track is a mile. I usually do four laps, then work on the machines then the other three laps. It’s not so boring that way. I do five minutes on the stationary bike. I plan on increasing that as I work at all of this and get stronger. For now, the five minutes feels good. Then I do a series of upper body and lower body machines. I have to say that I am Amazed at what I’m able to do while I’m there. I’m feeling very good about the whole thing.

They gym also offers classes which you usually have to pay for, but they were offering a special that I could get free classes for the rest of the year. Then I’ll have to pay, but the good thing is that I get to try out the classes and know what I actually want to pay for after January. I think it’s a really good deal. I’m hoping to take the tai chi class. I have to miss it this week because of a doctor’s appointment, but next week, I’ll be there at 8:30 ready to go!

~There are So many things that are So much better now that I have had the surgery and I’m well on my way to recovery. Just regular day-to-day activities are better. Sitting down and standing up from a chair, getting in and out of the car, grocery shopping…Going To The Gym!! There is something that is really making me happy about this whole thing.

Last year in the Summer and Fall, I was talking about all of the progress I was making with sorting out things that I wanted to be rid of. Things that I did not need for our move to New Mexico. I was accomplishing a Lot! Then late Fall and Winter came along and I felt as if I’d aged 20 years. That’s all changed now and I’m back to work.

I spent Sunday afternoon at my sister Ele’s house going through things I have stored there. I filled one box of things to go to the thrift store and three bags of books to go to the town library.

On Monday, I got to work here at home. I was proud of myself for being unsentimental about books and I’m happy for what you see in this photo.

Four bags of books to go to the town library. They’re still sitting in my bedroom, but they’re ready to go. I’m glad to be contributing to the town library and I’m Very Glad that they will soon be Out Of My House!

I’ve got so much to do regarding this clean out, but if I work on it a little a day, I know I can get it done. It’s crazy how you can pile things up, even when you try to stay on top of it. Believe me, when we get to New Mexico…this will NOT happen again.

That’s Thinking Out Loud for me for this week. Makes me feel good to post an overall positive post. I like that! Be sure to stop over at Running With Spoons to see what they all have to say.

Another Thursday…Another Thinking Out Loud! Hostessed by the lovely Amanda at Running With Spoons. This is our opportunity each week to stammer and yammer and get things off our chests without anyone being annoyed because everyone in the link up is doing it! If you like to hear what other people are complaining about, head on over.

~One of my points is exactly that-Complaining! I suppose that one of the reasons I feel so at home at Thinking Out Loud is that I feel like I’ve been a big complainer lately. If I think about the really important things in life, I have nothing to complain about. But I realize that every day, I find myself complaining to my to best friends. I’ve told them that I’m going to try to correct that. We were together yesterday afternoon and I think I was able to keep it under control.. I think that what I need to do is ask them to tell me if I start doing it, especially if I don’t realize it and don’t stop myself. I’m so lucky right now. Up and around and feeling so good…to quote our Governor…”shut up and sit down!”

~I do have reason to complain in some areas, but they are not areas over which I have total control. I’m working to get this house in order so that we can get it sold and we can get to New Mexico. I’m not talking about it any more. I’m just going to start working at it, chip away at it a little bit at a time. The disarray is frustrating and debilitating sometimes, but I’m going to work with it. Yesterday, I was able to get a few things done, mostly because I was alone and I made a nice dent in things. I feel good about it.

~One of the things putting me off track is sleep. I have been up at all kinds of crazy hours. 3 am, 4 am. This morning it was 4 am. Frustrating. I got up, made the coffee and read. I’ve been complaining that I haven’t been reading, so I put this time to good use. I think I knocked out about 25 pages. Pretty good. I’m going to try to do that more often. My total on Goodreads this year is abysmal. Maybe that’s why I’m cranky!

~Oh, Joy, Oh Rapture!!! The election is over!! No more political commercials about people I don’t care about and can’t vote for anyway-the curse of living “near” a big city with lots of people running. They’re all over the river and have Nothing to do with Me! Of course, as I listened to the news this morning and they were reviewing who won and who lost-they were starting to talk about the Presidential election in two years. At this point, I DON’T CARE!! I was hoping for a few months before that started…I didn’t even get a couple of days. I used to be such a news junkie, I loved watching the campaigns and the conventions, but it’s so different now. That however, is a topic for another day.

~Thanks to my best friend, Gail (again!) I’m getting to go to the gym. She has guest passes and is sharing them with me. I will be joining probably in a couple of weeks. I am enjoying it so much. I’m doing things that my physical therapist has told me I should be doing in order to strengthen my muscles after the surgery. I really feel good. Just to be sure I’m not doing anything I shouldn’t, I’ve taken a series of photos to show her which machines they have at the gym to be sure I’m not doing anything I shouldn’t.

I’ve got a series of them, so I’ll have options. I’m already doing the upper body machines. No need to ask about those. I’ve also been walking the indoor track. I walked a mile two days in a row. It does feel good to be getting some exercise!

~I’m back to blogging and I’m enjoying it so much. I am so grateful to all of my readers who have come back since my return and I’m happy to see new readers as well. It makes me feel good. This is such a great way for me to express myself, and now that I’ve found Thinking Out Loud, it’s a great place to get all of this stuff out of my head. I don’t need it in there any more!

Be sure to visit Running With Spoons to check out all of the Thinking Out Loud posts. If you feel like getting something off your chest…Join In!

Here we are, it’s March 3 and I haven’t changed my calendar yet! Meghan, can I use that as the first thing on Next week’s Week In Review?! Meghan is our lovely hostess for Week In Review. Be sure to check out all of the other bloggers who link up at Clean Eats, Fast Feets every week. I love WIR because it helps me to see exactly what I’ve done in a week. Makes me feel much more accomplished than I did before I joined in. Besides, I’m starting to appreciate Meghan’s love of lists that started the whole thing!

~It snowed!! I realize that I had nothing to do with the snow, but it had an impact on my week and helped to contribute to my general feeling of craziness. I am truly tired of the snow as I’ve been saying again and again. You’re probably sick of hearing it, but I’m sick of experiencing it. Ok, that’s off my mind now.

~Another good week of going through the Artist’s Way program. We completed Week 8. I did my morning pages every day and I’m amazed that I only have about 6 pages left in my current MP notebook. I have another at the ready. I’ve been saving up journal books for years never knowing what I was going to do with them. Now I know. I love the exercise of doing the pages. They are a great way for me to start the day, dump out a bunch of things and I do believe it will be a practice that stays with me.

~We got all of our tax paperwork in the mail. So glad when that’s accomplished. Come on Refund!

~I exercised six out of the last seven days. I feel so much better doing this. I am now realizing why I always did my exercise bike each morning even when I was still working. It makes me feel so good. Especially now with my hip issues. This is truly a wonderful thing. I’m up to 35 minutes now and I may try to raise that as this new week progresses. I may even try to add a short ride in the afternoon. I’m feeling so good about it.

~I have decided that something that is missing in my life is meditation. I had meditated for quite a while in 2013. I believe at one point I was up to 109 days in a row without missing. I’ve downloaded several apps to my phone which are quite good. Each one has several choices of either music or sound (chimes, chanting, wind, water) that are very good for calming and focusing me. Today for some reason, it didn’t work, my mind kept moving to things I have to do today. This blog post was one of those things. One of the main reasons I usually do it on Sunday is because then I have time to think about it and not be rushed on Monday. Note to self…Do Week In Review on Sunday…Always!! Here’s a little look at what I see when I meditate.

A flickering candle and the wonderful Buddha that my sister, Ele got for me. Very peaceful.

~I read poetry. Not something I’ve done in quite a while. Monica who is the leader of our Artist’s Way cluster, loaned me a book of poetry by Mary Oliver. I must confess that I am ashamed that I don’t think I’ve ever heard of her. She won a Pulitzer Prize for poetry. However, I’ve found her now and I’m a fan. I need to read more poetry. It will probably encourage me to write more as well. When I get to my project of going through the books at my sister’s house, I need to pull out some of my poetry books and get into them again.

That’s about it for me for Week In Review. I have big plans for this coming week, so I intend to have a much longer list next week! Be sure to check over at Meghan’s Clean Eats, Fast Feets to see what everyone is up to. Have a great week!

Eeeeeeeee!! Ok, that was a squeak or a squeal but it just needed to be said because today’s letter in the Blogging A to Z Challenge is the letter E.

It seems that my A to Z this year has heavy (you should excuse the expression) leanings toward Weight Watchers and all things involved with it. That was not my intention, but you know what…I’ve heard that in writing you should go with what you know. It makes sense for me to use WW as a framework but I certainly don’t want to bore anyone. During regular posts I talk a lot about WW but I don’t want to scare away any readers coming here for the first time from the Challenge. It really is an integral part of my life and I find it hard not to talk about it. That’s why I originally started to work for Weight Watchers, I figured that I talked about it all the time, I might as well get paid for doing it.

Maybe this is an indication that I should follow my instincts and start working for them again. We’ll see where that takes me.

Exercise is one of those things that I think you either love it or hate it. I think for most people, even when you’re doing it and telling yourself that you love it, you’re really hating it and when you’re telling yourself that you hate it, you’re secretly loving it.

Prior to WW, I was never an exerciser, but then I realized that exercise could enhance my weight loss and now helps me to maintain that loss. I’d say that my favorite exercise is plain old walking. I don’t do it as often as I’d like and I know I need to do it more often. Now that the weather is better on a regular basis, I’m going to try to head out in the mornings every few days. At the moment, with my other focuses, primarily sorting and packing, I can’t devote time to it every day, but even every other day will be a plus.

My most frequent exercise…my stationary bike. It’s old and battered and the wheel actually turns because of two very long shoelaces tied together, but it does what it’s supposed to do. It would be better if there was more resistance, that doesn’t work so well either, but I do it nearly every day.

While I’m on the bike I’m also doing upper body exercise. I have a 3 pound ball weight that I use. Over the time I’ve been doing this, I’ve been noticing that my upper body strength has improved. As a result I keep doing it.

Of course the biggest reason I get on the bike (and please don’t tell the Real Exercisers out there!) is so that I can read. Yes, I’m an exercise reader. I love reading on the bike, it makes the time go so much more quickly and I’ll also ride longer if I’m reading. The fun comes when I’m riding, reading and using my hand weight! There are times when I drop my book or drop the ball and it rolls away. Hey, I get more exercise chasing the ball!

It’s also pretty amusing when I decide I want to get some more exercise and I still want to read. I stand in my bedroom, marching in place, sometimes side to side and reading. I actually amaze myself with all of this both on the bike and off the bike because it requires a lot of coordination…not something I’m known for.

If I could figure out how to read while I walk outside, maybe I’d get out more! I’ve got to get something where I can download audio books from the library. Then I’ll be all set!

That is certainly seems to be what I’ve done this week. I needed to do it and I do hope that it wasn’t too boring to any of you. I was seriously off of several tracks and needed to focus in. Those of you reading for a while know that focus is often one of my issues, but I feel I’ve succeeded this week and I’ve learned one important thing about myself.

On Thursday night, I finished off the impromptu soup I made the other day. As with most soups, it tasted better the second day. Topped with some shredded mozzarella and provolone. This is where the thing I’ve realized about myself comes in. Cheese. I can’t control cheese, I can’t keep it around. Sliced or shredded…if it’s in the fridge…it’s in my mouth. It’s sad, but I have to do something about my lack of control. My plan is this. I won’t buy any shredded cheese and will try not to buy too much sliced cheese. I can’t keep that out completely because Ralph likes it for sandwiches. I just have to make myself a rule that I will not eat it. It worked with chips. As of October 9, it will 19 months since I’ve had chips. It has helped.

My plan is that I will allow myself the grated Locatelli cheese, I can use that in stir fries and salad. I will also allow myself cottage cheese. Not technically a cheese, but it works well to give stir fries some “cheesiness.” I’ll try not to be boring about this, but I will keep myself in line by talking about it here. Wish me Luck!

Friday breakfast was overnight oats made with 1/2 cup of oats, 1/2 cup of almond milk and 1/2 cup of this pomegranate Lifeway Kefir. Topped with frozen blueberries before 1 minute and 30 seconds in the microwave. The Kefir is tangy and fruity and I love it in this.

Made the most of Friday morning getting some snacks ready…

Carrots and celery chopped and ready will help me stay on track.

Boiled up some eggs for lunches and snacks.

Friday’s lunch…chopped Romaine with cottage cheese and hard-cooked egg with Lots of ground black pepper. A side of carrots and celery. Forgot I had this little bowl that matches my Big bowl!

Saturday morning, I’ll find how successful I’ve been this week when I get to Weight Watchers for my weigh in. I’m feeling good…good food choices, lots of exercise. And the all important factor that I am sometimes missing…Focus! I’m looking forward to Success!! 😉

I was up at about 5 am which seems to be my new natural wake up time. I like it better than 3 am!! I worked on the computer for a while and was probably 15 minutes from getting dressed and out the door for my walk, when what do I hear but Rain! 😦 I must say, I was not happy but I decided to re-work the day.

I had these little babies, some Gala apples I got at the produce market earlier in the week that weren’t great to start and went down hill quickly. So…when you have “sawdust” apples what do you do? Get out the crock pot and get to work!

Lots of chopping…

Crock pot full!! After chopping everything, I sprinkle in 2 packets of Splenda, and a liberal sprinkling of cinnamon and apple pie spice. Plug it in, turn it on and do other things!

What I did was get on my exercise bike. Please pay no attention to the “stuff” on the floor!

I read while riding as well as using one of my hand weights.

I’m trying to finish Divergent by Veronica Roth

It was slow to start but now I’m really getting into it! In fact, I didn’t want to stop reading and ended up riding for an Hour! I was impressed with myself, because I really need to get as much exercise as possible. I was feeling so stiff and sore and the first 2 days I walked I was Very stiff after. Today, with riding for an hour…I’m not stiff at all. I also tried to step up my speed. In fact, besides using the hand weights while on the bike, anytime I read, I try to have my hand weights nearby and use them. Building and maintaining upper body strength is important.

Oh, and the apples…they crocked away while I rode the bike, got cleaned up, dressed and went grocery shopping!

They didn’t make a huge amount because there were only 5 apples. But…it’ll be enough to add to oatmeal AND to use as a snack. This is such an easy way to make a special treat which costs me nothing on Weight Watchers! That, of course, is Ok By Me! Hope the sun is shining where you are! 🙂